Avian influenza virus

[Nick Komar]

Folks, a highly pathogenic avian flu virus may be coming our way. It is strain H5N2, and in recent weeks/months has caused deaths in chicken flocks and/or wild birds in Utah, Wyoming and Kansas. The latest casualty was a Canada Goose near Cheyenne earlier this month. So far, no humans have been infected. What does this mean for Coloradoans?

First, if you own birds and one or more appears sick, take care to be hygienic if you handle them.

Second, consult your vet or local Ag office to get sick poultry or pet birds tested. Links may be found at www.colorado.gov.

Third, take care to limit contact between domestic/pet birds with wild birds. For guidance to improve bio security for backyard chickens, consult http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov

Fourth, take care to avoid direct unprotected contact with dead wild birds. As far as I can tell, there is no effective reporting system for dead wild birds currently in place in Colorado. If I find out differently, I will post.

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

[Nick Komar]

For reporting sick/dead wild birds, Colorado Parks & Wildlife may be contacted via their website: http://cpw.state.co.us. They have a wildlife disease laboratory in Fort Collins.

Also, the Colorado Health Emergency Line for the Public (CoHELP) will receive reports of sick/dead birds (and chickens) and forward the reports to the appropriate agency within Colorado. That number is 1-877-462-2911.

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+u...@googlegroups.com.
> To post to this group, send email to cob...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CFA3887D-E914-4AD4-B9CD-C1CCA5FF3255%40comcast.net.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.